18 Jun 2020
Six new JPI Ocean projects research microplastics
Andromeda, HOTMIC, FACTS, i-plastic, microplastiX and RESPONSE are the six new projects conducting research on microplastics, including their sources, the methods for identifying smaller micro- and (nano-) plastics and monitoring their circulation in marine systems, as well as their effects. On 20 May 2020, JPI Oceans hosted the official online kickoff of the projects.
The Joint Programming Initiative Healthy and Productive Seas and Oceans (JPI Oceans) is an intergovernmental platform, open to all EU Member States and Associated Countries that invest in marine and maritime research.
The six newly launched projects cover different aspects of microplastics research, united by the common goal to improve the knowledge about analysis, weathering and ecotoxicological effects of microplastics in the marine environment. More information available in the projects’ presentations.
- ANDROMEDA – Analysis techniques for quantifying nano-and microplastic particles and their degradation in the marine environment
Coordinator: Dr Richard Sempéré, Université d’Aix-Marseille, France - HOTMIC – Horizontal and vertical oceanic distribution, transport, and impact of microplastics
Coordinator: Dr Mark Lenz, GEOMAR Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel, Germany - FACTS – Fluxes and Fate of Microplastics in Northern European Waters
Coordinator: Prof Jes Vollertsen, Aalborg University, Denmark - microplastiX – Integrated approach on the fate of MicroPlastics (MPs) towards healthy marine ecosystems
Coordinator: Prof Luca Brandt KTH, Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden - i-plastic – Dispersion and impacts of micro- and nano-plastics in the tropical and temperate oceans: from regional land-ocean interface to the open ocean
Coordinator: Prof Patrizia Ziveri, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain - RESPONSE – Toward a risk-based assessment of microplastic pollution in marine ecosystems
Coordinator: Prof Francesco Regoli, Polytechnic University of Marche, Italy